Gucci ManeEvil Genius

Few artists are able to blend themselves with their art as perfectly as Gucci Mane. This tendency is present on what seems like his billionth release, Evil Genius. The 18-track album comes about a year after Guwop's last record El Gato: The Human Glacier.

On it, we see the changes in our singer-rapper-kingpin extraordinaire. There's a little less bravado for its own sake; instead, we are offered reflections on the differences in the man's life since his last release from jail. He's married, off of drugs and, as the album's cover shows, ripped now. He still sings about foreign bitches, about moving snow and all the other hallmarks of trap music. But, like the aging King, the Grandfather of the movement has new wisdom.

Among the album's best tracks are "BiPolar" featuring Quavo, "Cold Shoulder" with Youngboy Never Broke Again, and "Wake Up in the Sky" with Bruno Mars and Kodak Black. This last feels like a Rick Ross song that has been hitting the gym.

The change, though, is best seen in the album's opener "Off the Boat." On it, Gucci raps alternatively about his current life, "I donate to charity (Yeah) / I'm a good samaritan (Mmm)" and how he got here: "Gucci Mane's a murderer, you sure you wanna marry him?" Given the last line is third person, it's likely tongue-in-cheek, but we've all read about the man's past.

The only thing that would make you dislike Evil Genius is a dislike of the artist behind it. Because, as with most Gucci releases, you do not get the one without the other.
(1017 Brick Squad/Warner)